The digital currency Bitcoin promises all these things. And while it's
far from achieving any of them -- its value is unstable and it's rarely
used -- some have high hopes.

"There will be alternatives to the dollar, and this might be one of
them," said former U.S. congressman Ron Paul. If people start using
bitcoins en masse, "it'll go down in history as the destroyer of the dollar," Paul added.

It's unlikely that Bitcoin would replace the dollar or other
government-controlled currencies. But it could serve as a kind of
universal alternative currency that is accepted everywhere around the
globe.

Over night last night, Bitcoin went from a high of $1240 (Mt.Gox) to a low of $870 and back up to $1050 as of this writing. Personally, I expect it to move on up to $2000 within the next week or two. But, who knows? We'll see.